Zoological Maps

(also, zoogeographical maps), maps depicting the spatial patterns of the distribution of animals and of their relation to the geographic environment. In terms of their subject matter zoological maps may be divided into two basic types, particular and general maps.

Particular zoological maps include maps showing regional distribution by individuals, populations, subspecies, species, genera, and families as well as changes over time in their distribution; maps of population size and dynamics; maps of animal movements, including migrations, roaming, and shifts within a particular locality; maps of types of animal colonies; maps of phenological phenomena; maps classifying animals according to biotype; and maps of practical economic significance, for example, maps showing damage caused by a certain pest, maps depicting hunting or fishing areas, and maps evaluating localities as habitats of commercially valuable animals.

General zoological maps depict population types of various groups of animals, for example, systematic groups, such as mammals or birds, or groups forming feeding chains and supporting the spread of endemic diseases; maps of faunal complexes; and maps of types of biocenoses and of the distribution of the biomass and of productivity. Sometimes zoological maps simultaneously combine several of the foregoing elements, for example, seasonal distribution and population or types of population and their classification by biotype. The data of zoological maps can be presented so as to show distribution as well as to delineate zones.

The term “zoological cartography” was introduced by the Russian scientist B. M. Zhitkov, who regarded cartography as a graphic means of summarizing the results of zoogeo-graphic investigation. The majority of zoological maps are published as textual illustrations in scientific articles. Zoological maps of various types may be found in the Czech Forest and Hunting Atlas (1955), the atlas of Kustanai Oblast (1963), and the atlas of Transbaikalia (1967).